Rebel Wilson Says the Idea That Only Gay Actors Can Play Gay Roles Is ‘Total Nonsense’
Rebel Wilson said the idea that only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles is “total nonsense.” In an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs,” the Australian actor responded to host Lauren Laverne when she asked if Wilson felt there was a different standard with the types of jokes female comedians can make compared to male comedians.
“I’ve definitely said a lot of edgy jokes, and said them sometimes in very public places like the BAFTAs,” Wilson said. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s a different standard; it’s more this thing about – if you are something, then now you’re allowed to joke about it. So say, if you are overweight, you can say jokes. But if you’re not [you can’t], that’s kind of what’s currently happening. So it’s not really gendered.”
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Wilson, who came out as gay in June 2022 when she revealed her relationship with now fiancée Ramona Agruma, continued, “It’s going into this territory of like saying, ‘Well, only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles,’ which I think is total nonsense. I think you should be able to play any role that you want. But I always think, in comedy, your job is to always flirt with that line of what’s acceptable. Sometimes you do step over it but, at the end of the day, you are trying to entertain people. If people are just always being safe and protective, you’re not going to get good comedy from that.”
During the interview, Wilson spoke about her relationship with Agruma and how they came out to their respective families. “I’m lucky in my case, even though I come from a very conservative background, it went very, very well,” Wilson said. “My grandparents, who are in their 90s, just so chilled and cool with it. Ramona’s family, not as much. Her mum has luckily come around now, her father still doesn’t talk to her, but we’re hoping that will change.”
Wilson is currently doing press about her new memoir, Rebel Rising. The book has garnered substantial controversy for its claims against Sacha Baron Cohen, who Wilson worked with on The Brothers Grimsby. A chapter in the book alleges that the actor pressured Wilson into inappropriate scenes while on set for the 2016 film, including nude scenes and being asked by Cohen “to stick your finger up my ass.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, representatives for Baron Cohen denied Wilson’s account of the interaction. “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby,” the statement reads.
In an interview with The Sunday Times in April, Wilson doubled down, saying she felt “disrespected on the set” but refrained from speaking out so as not be to called a “troublemaker.”
“It turned out to be the worst professional experience of my career,” she said. She told the outlet that she believed the film’s costumes were picked to “see all the cellulite on my thighs and a top to show the fattest part of my arm… like I was something to be laughed at and degraded because of my size.”
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